‘Wish there could be two winners’: All love between Eala, Jovic after French Open tussle

Alex Eala and Iva Jovic

Alain Jocard / AFP

MANILA, Philippines — No defeat or victory at the hands of each other could ever put a dent on the friendship that Alex Eala and Iva Jovic have built — on and off the hard and tough, grassy or muddy court of world tennis.

The Filipina star and her American friend exchanged compliments on social media as a testament to their strong bond even after one of the most-anticipated Round 1 duels in the 2026 French Open.

Eala, who celebrated her 21st birthday with the 18-year-old Jovic and the rest of their global friends last weekend, bowed to the same woman with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat for yet another exit in the Roland Garros.

Yet it’s all love between the two, still and always.

“One of those days I wish there could be two winners. Love you Alex,” said Jovic, WTA No. 17, on Instagram shortly after advancing to the second round against her compatriot Emma Navarro, WTA No. 25.

“No one I’d rather share the court with. Love you girl,” answered Eala, WTA No. 37.

Eala and Jovic have been good friends since their junior days before extending that connection to the pros, where they are now two of the best young stars.

They also joined forces in two doubles tournaments this season highlighted by a 7-6, (9-7), 6-1 stunner on the then World No. 9 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine (now No. 7) and 21-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams of the United States, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, in the Round of 16 of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand en route to a Final Four finish.

Also in the same circle are Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine (WTA No. 15), Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey (WTA No. 66) and Eva Lys of Germany (WTA No. 81), underscoring tennis’ borderless reach with multi-nation affinity.

Jovic and company even gifted Eala a birthday cake on Saturday while they were all on training, and hung out with a dinner date around Paris.

But the two were well aware that they are true rivals when it’s game time on the court, and Jovic definitely felt that from Eala despite a sweeping win in only 100 minutes of play.

"I think it was a tough one," said Jovic, also the No. 17 seed in the stacked 128-player draw.

"Alex is a great player. One of the, I think toughest first rounds, especially as a seed, that I could have gotten. But I hung tough when I needed to, and was happy to get it done in straight sets."

As Jovic sets her sights on a third-round bid, Eala shifts her focus to the doubles with World No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada — their first partnership in the doubles — against Filipina-Canadian ace Leylah Fernadez and Diana Shnaider of Russia in Round 1.

Eala, No. 116 in the doubles, and Mboko, No. 133, were to play Shnaider, doubles No. 18 and No. 23 in singles, and Fernandez (singles No. 22, doubles No. 81), at press time.